A blog dealing with either the joy of cinema or the agony of cinema--nothing in between.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Big Fan

George Carlin had a bit that said something about sports fans being the lowest of the low, and in Robert Siegel's (writer of The Wrestler) Big Fan we get a picture of a fan so dedicated to the New York Giants we sometimes forget that he isn't a twelve year old. Paul, nicely played by the unexpected Patton Oswalt, is the 30-something super-fan who lives at home, works in a tollbooth, and spends his remaining time calling New York local sports talk shows and rooting for the Giants. The rest of his family is successful. His sister is happily married and his brother is a hotshot personal injury attorney with a Jersey Queen, double D wife (I like how Siegel gets the Jersey details right again-notice the 50 Cent icing on the birthday cake). Still, Paul is comfortable with a lifestyle. That is until he chances to meet his favorite player, and unexpected consequences pursue. This is a nice little Indie movie, released direct to On Demand I believe, and never seeing the light of day in a theatrical release (at least in Cleveland). The film never really reaches for greatness, but it is nice for what it is: a character study of a man who may resemble more men they would care to admit.
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